Information terminal

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides mobile terminals with various types of services such as electronic commerce service, music delivery service, and position information service. User applications required for the electronic commerce service, music delivery service, and position information service are respectively configured as service objects each having a server facility, and further a local gateway is provided, whereby various types of services can be used through a browser.

The present application is a Divisional of application Ser. No.11/808,838, filed Jun. 13, 2007, which is a Divisional of applicationSer. No. 09/958,027 (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,246,152), filed Jan. 7, 2002,the entirety of which are incorporated by reference herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an information delivery system thatprovides terminals having a browser with various types of informationservices such as electronic commerce service, music delivery service,and position information service, and particularly enables the use ofvarious types of services in mobile terminals which are poorer inresources than personal computers.

BACKGROUND ART

In recent years, various types of information services such as retrievalservice, electronic commerce service, and music delivery service havebeen actively offered using a personal computer in which a browser isinstalled.

For example, electronic commerce service is achieved in a form thatinstalls a browser and an electronic wallet application in a personalcomputer, and activates the electronic wallet application from thebrowser to use the facilities of the electronic wallet application. FIG.1( a) is a schematic block diagram of an EC system of the prior art.

The EC system, as shown in FIG. 1( a), comprises a personal computer inwhich a browser 1406 and an electronic wallet application 1407 areinstalled, an electronic value server 1403 that creates and issueselectronic value such as electronic tickets and prepaid electronicmoney, a service server 1405 that provides service corresponding to paidcosts, a settlement server 1404 that performs account settlementprocessing in banks, credit service companies, or settlementinstitutions, and an information server 1402 that provides onlineinformation concerning electronic value and vends electronic value,wherein these components are linked by the Internet 1400.

For example, assuming that information service provided by the serviceserver 1405 is paid by prepaid type electronic money managed by theelectronic wallet application 1407, the personal computer 1401 receivesHTML page data including a link for activating the electronic walletapplication 1407 from the service server 1405 and displays its contentson a browser window 1412 of a display screen 1411 (see FIG. 1( b)). Whena user selects the link for activating the electronic wallet application1407, the browser 1406 activates the electronic wallet application 1407and an electronic wallet window 1413 is displayed on the display screen1411. The user manipulates the activated electronic wallet application1407 and pays a required cost to the service server 1405 by the prepaidtype electronic money managed by the electronic wallet application 1407.If the prepaid type electronic money is lacking, the user manipulatesthe electronic wallet application 1407 to purchase prepaid typeelectronic money via the information server 1402 and downloads newprepaid type electronic money from the electronic value server 1403.When the required cost is paid, and to ensure security for thedownloading of prepaid type electronic money, between the electronicwallet application 1407 and the service server 1406, and between theelectronic wallet application 1407 and the electronic value server 1403,communications are performed using an electronic wallet protocol 1409,instead of the HTTP protocol 1408.

However, in an attempt to provide the same services for mobile terminalswhich have smaller display screens and are poorer in resources such asmemory than personal computers, conventional mechanisms have beenlacking in the capability to display the browser window and theelectronic wallet window on one screen at a time because of the smalldisplay screen of the mobile terminals, requiring the mobile terminalsto allocate a display memory for each application and providing userswith the inconvenience of switching and using screens for eachapplication.

Also, since mobile terminals such as portable telephones, in most cases,have communication parts optimized depending on manufacturers andmodels, and there is no standard API for the communication parts, it hasbeen necessary to develop an electronic wallet protocol for each model.

Also, in mobile terminals such as portable telephones, since the size ofdata that can be transferred at a time is smaller, compared withpersonal computers, large-capacity electronic value containing imagedata cannot be downloaded and, in some cases, have been unusable inmobile terminals.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstancesto overcome the above problems and the primary object is to enablemobile terminals to use various types of information services such aselectronic commerce service, music delivery service, and positioninformation service.

According to the present invention, there is provided an informationterminal, comprising: communication means for providing a facility tocommunicate with servers on a network; one or more service object meansfor providing specific information processing facilities; local gatewaymeans for providing a facility to communicate with the service objectmeans; and browser means for providing facilities to browse informationwritten in a markup description language, provided from the servers onthe network and the service object means, and present instructions tothe servers on the network and the service object means, via thecommunication means and the local gateway means. By this construction,even mobile terminals can use the facilities of both the servers on thenetwork and the service object means through the browser means, and nodisplay memory needs to be allocated for each application.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1( a) is a schematic block diagram of an EC system of the priorart;

FIG. 1( b) is a schematic diagram illustrating a user's personalcomputer screen in an EC system of the prior art;

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of a mobile multimedia informationdelivery system FIG. 3( a) is a schematic front view of a mobile userterminal in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3( b) is a schematic rear view of a mobile user terminal inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of a mobile user terminal inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the relationship amongapplications (browser, electronic wallet object, and local gateway) andother components of a mobile user terminal in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention, and other devices;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing the relationship amongapplications (browser, music player object, and local gateway) and othercomponents of a mobile user terminal in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention, and other devices;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing the relationship amongapplications (browser, navigator object, and local gateway) and othercomponents of a mobile user terminal in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention, and other devices;

FIG. 8( a) is a schematic diagram of a display screen of a mobile userterminal in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention whenturned on;

FIG. 8( b) is a schematic diagram of an Internet menu screen of a mobileuser terminal in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8( c) is a schematic diagram of an electronic value order screen ofa mobile user terminal in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 8( d) is a schematic diagram of a password input screen of a mobileuser terminal in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8( e) is a schematic diagram of an electronic value list screen ofa mobile user terminal in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 8( f) is a schematic diagram of an electronic value display screenof a mobile user terminal in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 8( g) is a schematic diagram of a music player display screen of amobile user terminal in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 8( h) is a schematic diagram of a navigator display screen of amobile user terminal in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating the relationship betweenapplications executed by the CPU 300 in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention and a browser;

FIG. 10 is a schematic block diagram of a service terminal in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a schematic block diagram of a user terminal in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a flow chart showing the processing of splitting anddownloading electronic value in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 13( a) is a schematic diagram of Server_instruction_1 messagewritten in a markup description language, in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13( b) is a schematic diagram of S0_instruction_1 message writtenin a markup description language, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 14( a) is a schematic diagram of Server_instruction_2 messagewritten in a markup description language, in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 14( b) is a schematic diagram of S0_instruction_2 message writtenin a markup description language, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram showing a description example of a markupdescription language in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram showing the relationship amongapplications (browser, electronic wallet object, and local gateway) andother components of a mobile user terminal in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention, and other devices;

FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram showing the relationship amongapplications (browser, music player object, and local gateway) and othercomponents of a mobile user terminal in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention, and other devices; and

FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram showing the relationship amongapplications (browser, navigator object, and local gateway) and othercomponents of a mobile user terminal in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention, and other devices.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

According to a first aspect of the present invention, an informationterminal is provided with: communication means for providing a facilityto communicate with servers on a network; one or more service objectmeans for providing specific information processing facilities; localgateway means for providing a facility to communicate with the serviceobject means; and browser means for providing facilities to browseinformation written in a markup description language, provided from theservers on the network and the service object means, and presentinstructions to the servers on the network and the service object means,via the communication means and the local gateway means. By thisconstruction, even mobile terminals can use the facilities of both theservers on the network and the service object means through the browsermeans, and no display memory needs to be allocated for each application.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the firstinformation terminal is constructed so that the local gateway means hasservice object manager means for managing the service object means, andthe service object manager means, for each service object means, managesURI (Universal Resource Identifier) of a service object, and statusinformation indicating whether the service object is usable. By thisconstruction, by specifying URI of a service object, the facility of aspecified service object means can be used.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the secondinformation terminal is constructed so that the service object managermeans has markup description language creating means, and the markupdescription language creating means creates a list of usable serviceobjects in a markup description language in a format that appends linksto the service objects. By this construction, a list of usable serviceobjects can be displayed in the browser means to allow selection of aservice object from the browser means, providing increased conveniencefor users.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the second orthird information terminal is constructed so that the service objectshave markup description language creating means and exchange a givenmessage with the servers on the network through the browser means byusing a method of posting given information to a URI-specifieddestination of a markup description language. By this construction,without making changes to the communication means, the service objectscan be controlled by the servers on the network, and the servers on thenetwork can be controlled by the service objects.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the second orthird information terminal is constructed so that the service objectshave the markup description language creating means and means fordecoding data posted in encoded form, and exchange given data with theservers on the network through the browser means by using a method ofposting given information to a URI-specified destination of a markupdescription language to set encoded data as information to be posted. Bythis construction, without making changes to the communication means,data can be downloaded to the service objects from the servers on thenetwork, and data can be uploaded to the servers on the network from theservice objects.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the fourth orfifth information terminal is constructed so that, in the markuplanguage description from the servers on the network, the serviceobjects are specified by relative identification information, while, inthe markup language description from the service objects, the servers onthe network are specified by absolute identification information. Bythis construction, the browser means can easily distinguish betweenrequests from the servers on the network and those from the serviceobjects.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, the fifthinformation terminal is constructed so that the service objects havemeans for splitting data to be downloaded from the servers on thenetwork to N (an integer greater than 0) pieces of data and downloadingit as N markup description languages, and extracts data portions fromthe received N markup description languages to create one piece of data.By this construction, even in a network over which large data cannot betransmitted at a time, large data can be downloaded.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, the seventhinformation terminal is constructed so that the N markup descriptionlanguages downloaded from the servers on the network include instructioninformation indicating how to process them. By this construction, amethod of processing downloaded data can be specified in detail.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, the seventh oreighth information terminal is constructed so that the N markupdescription languages downloaded from the servers on the network includeidentification information indicating that identical data is to bedownloaded. By this construction, downloaded data can be correctlyconverted to one piece of data.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, the seventh,eighth, or ninth information terminal is constructed so that the Nmarkup description languages to be downloaded from the servers on thenetwork respectively include identification information indicating theiroccurrence order. By this construction, downloaded data can be correctlyconverted to one piece of data.

According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, the seventh,eighth, ninth, or tenth information terminal is constructed so that dataportions are extracted from the markup description languages downloadedfrom the servers on the network, and if no error is detected as a resultof decoding the data portions, the servers on the network are notifiedthat no error is detected, through the browser means, using a method ofposting markup description language information. By this construction,data can be correctly downloaded.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, the seventh,eighth, ninth, tenth, or eleventh information terminal is constructed sothat a data portion is extracted from a markup description languagecorresponding to an M-th position of the N (M<N) split markupdescription languages downloaded from the servers on the network, and ifno error is detected as a result of decoding the data portion, a requestto send an (M+1)-th data item is issued to the servers on the network,through the browser means, using the method of posting markupdescription language information. By this construction, data can becorrectly downloaded.

According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, the seventh,eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh, or twelfth information terminal isconstructed so that a data portion is extracted from a markupdescription language corresponding to an M-th position of the N (M N)split markup description languages downloaded from the servers on thenetwork, and if an error is detected as a result of decoding the dataportion, a request to send the M-th data item is issued to the serverson the network, through the browser means, using the method of postingmarkup description language information. By this construction, data canbe correctly downloaded.

According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, the seventh,eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh, twelfth, or thirteenth informationterminal is constructed so that, when the size of data that can bereceived at a time is S, data to be downloaded is split so that the sizeof data to be transmitted at a time is S or less. By this construction,even in a network over which only small-sized data can be transmitted ata time is small, large-sized data can be correctly downloaded.

According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, a processingprogram of an information terminal according to one of claims 1 to 14 isrecorded in a computer-readable form. By this construction, the programcan be distributed in a portable form.

According to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention, an informationdelivery system comprises: at least a service server, an electronicvalue server, an information server, and a settlement server which areconnected to a network, and an information terminal having a browser,which is connected to the network, can communicate with the servers byuse of a markup description language, and can make access to varioustypes of service objects each having a server facility therein, using amarkup description language via a local gateway. By this construction,even mobile terminals can use the facilities of both the servers on thenetwork and the service objects through the incorporated browser, nodisplay memory needs to be allocated for each application, no userinterface and communication protocol need not be provided for eachservice, costs can be reduced, and greatly increased convenience can beprovided for users.

EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in greaterdetails below with reference to FIGS. 2 to 18. It should be noted herethat those skilled in the art may appreciate that the present inventionmay not be limited to the following disclosure, which are for solely thepurpose of illustration thereof, and that the present invention may beembodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit oressential characteristics thereof.

A practical embodiment of the present invention is a mobile multimediainformation delivery system which provides: electronic commerce serviceby which any individual buyer may purchase over the network any tickets,prepaid cards and the like as electronic information, and theexamination of tickets and transaction settlement of purchase ofmerchandises or services may be performed through wirelesscommunication, without presenting a ticket to a clerk at the time ofexamination of tickets, or without delivering cash and receipts with asalesperson at the time of purchase of a merchandise in a wholesalestore; music delivery service by which the buyer purchases musiccontents as electronic information through the network and downloads itto enjoy the music; and position information service combined withgeographic information.

In the following description, this system as have been described abovewill be referred to as “mobile multimedia information service. Theaggregation consisting of any electronic tickets, prepaid cards, andmusic contents that are dealt with in the present system will bereferred to as “electronic value”, as well as the entirety consisting ofa variety of services provided by the system will be referred to as“mobile multimedia information service”, hereinbelow.

The mobile multimedia information delivery system may include, as shownby the system architecture in FIG. 2, a mobile user terminal 101incorporating bidirectional wireless communication facility of threesystems, browsing facility, electronic wallet facility, music playerfacility, and navigation facility; a music player 116 and a navigationmodule 117 connected with the mobile user terminal 101 throughbluetooth; a user terminal 107 incorporating a bidirectionalcommunication facility, browsing facility, and electronic walletfacility; a service terminal 105 for the transaction settlementprocessing of electronic value; a service server 106 for serving for theonline transaction settlement processing of electronic value; asettlement server 104 for serving for the debit of bank accounts, creditcard accounts, or settlement institutions; an information server 102 forproviding online information concerning electronic value and for vendingelectronic value; an electronic value server 103 for generating andissuing electronic value; and gateways 118, 119, and 120, wherein theseservices are interconnected online over the Internet 100. (The mobileuser terminal 101, the service terminal 105, the user terminal 107 areconnected with the Internet 100 through the gateways 118, 119, and 120,respectively.) The gateways 118, 119, and 120 through which the mobileuser terminal 101, the service terminal 105, the user terminal 107 arerespectively connected with the Internet 100, the service server 106,the service server 106, settlement server 104, information server 102,and electronic value server 103 are systems formed by one or a pluralityof computers, respectively.

The mobile user terminal 101 is a portable wireless phone terminalhaving bidirectional wireless communication facility of three systems(IR communication, bluetooth, and digital wireless communication),browsing facility, electronic wallet facility, and music player facilityand navigation facility enabled by connecting the music player 116 andthe navigation module 117 through bluetooth.

The service terminal 105 has bidirectional wireless communicationfacility of two systems (IR communication and digital wirelesscommunication) and standalone type and wireless type having respectivelydifferent uses.

In FIG. 2, the reference numerals 108 and 113 respectively designatetransmission lines for digital wireless communication made while themobile user terminal 101 and the service terminal 105 are accessing theInternet 100; 109, a transmission line for digital wirelesscommunication between the mobile user terminal 101 and the serviceterminal 105; 110, 111, 112, 114, and 115, respectively digitalcommunication lines through which the information server 102, electronicvalue server 103, settlement server 104, service server 106, and userterminal 107 are connected with the Internet 100; and 121 and 122,respectively bluetooth logical transmission lines through which themusic player 118 and the navigation module 117 are connected with themobile user terminal.

The mobile multimedia information service normally assumes the followingoperation configuration.

The settlement server 104 is installed in banks, credit card companies,or settlement institutions, and the information server 102 is installedin event companies, ticket issuing companies, wholesale stores, prepaidcard issuing companies, record companies, and other business companies,which online provide information about electronic values and sellelectronic values.

The service terminal 105 may be installed at an entrance of movietheaters, event places, or the like, or register stations in stores ifthe terminal is of standalone type, and may be carried by a salespersonor money collector if the terminal is portable. The service server 106may be installed in a firm providing services compatible with theelectronic value such as an online shop and Internet broadcasting.

The mobile user terminal 101 may be carried by the consumer, while theuser terminal 107 may be installed at the home of the consumer.

The electronic value server 103 may be installed in an organization thatprovides the mobile multimedia information service.

The connections including the interconnection between devices formingcollectively the mobile multimedia information delivery system, and thesocial relationship among the owners of such system, can be assumed asfollows:

The consumer-owner who possesses the mobile user terminal 101 has acontract of accounting with a bank or a credit card company, and anothercontract of membership of mobile multimedia information service with theservice provider of mobile multimedia information service. The owner ofthe service terminal 105 and the owner of the service server 106 mayenter into a contract of franchise system with the mobile multimediainformation service provider. It should be noted here that the serviceterminal 105 owner or service server 106 owner may also be the samemobile multimedia information service provider.

The owner of the information server 102 may enter a contract with themobile multimedia information service provider in order for theelectronic value server 103 to issue electronic value in response to therequest from the information server 102. It should be noted here alsothat the information server 102 owner may be the same service providerof the mobile multimedia information service.

In order to simplify the description on the present system hereinbelow,the consumer-owner of the mobile user terminal 101 will be referred toas “user”, the business entity that possesses the service terminal 105or the service server 106 and sells or provides merchandises andservices as “merchant”, the company that possesses the electronic valueserver 103 to provide the mobile multimedia information service as“service provider”, the institution that possesses the settlement server104 to process the transaction settlement of accounts such as banks,credit card companies, or settlement organizations as “transactionprocessor”, and the association that possesses the information server102 for providing information concerning the electronic value online andselling the electronic value as “electronic value seller”. The mobilemultimedia information service provided by the system in accordance withthe invention is an electronic service, which processes the purchase andsale of tickets, prepaid cards, and music contents via the network, thedelivery along therewith, and the exercise of tickets, cards, and musiccontents.

More specifically, a user may use his/her mobile user terminal 101 toplace a purchase order of electronic value to the information server 102via the Internet, then receive electronic value generated by theelectronic value server 103 on the basis of a request of issuingelectronic value from the information server 102 to the electronic valueserver 103 and then store and manage it into the mobile user terminal101. For using the purchased electronic value such as tickets andprepaid cards, the mobile user terminal 101 may perform datacommunication with the service terminal 105 or service server 106 toadduce the information of the electronic value stored in the mobile userterminal 101 to exchange the transaction information of electronic valuetherewith and transact the electronic value, and then the merchant willdeliver a service or product. For electronic values such as musiccontents, the stored electronic values are reproduced. The transactionprocess along with the purchase and sale of electronic value will beperformed between the information sever 10 and the settlement server 14.The details of mobile multimedia information service will be describedlater.

In mobile multimedia information service, data communication amongdevices of the present system will be carried out over the transmissionline or communication channel as described below. The mobile userterminal 101 may perform digital communication with the informationserver 102 through the transmission line 108, Internet 100, and digitalcommunication channel 110, may digitally communicate with the electronicvalue server 103 through the transmission line 108, Internet 100, anddigital communication channel 111, may also digitally communicate withthe service server 106 through the transmission line 108, Internet 100,and digital communication channel 111, may perform IR communication withthe service terminal 105 through a transmission line 109, and mayperform bluetooth communication with the music player 116 through thetransmission line 121 and with the navigation module 117 through thetransmission line 122, respectively.

In the communication between the mobile user terminal 101 and electronicvalue server 103, communication between the mobile user terminal 101 andservice terminal 105, and communication between the mobile user terminal101 and service server 106, any transaction information will beencrypted. For the encryption, a combination of the common secret keyencryption and the public key encryption are used to encapsulateinformation into an envelope before communication. Components of thepresent system will then be described below in greater details.

At first the service terminal 105 will be detailed.

Now referring to FIG. 10, there is shown a schematic block diagram of aservice terminal 105. In FIG. 10, the service terminal 105 consists of acomputer 900, a wireless modem 901, and an IR communication adapter 902.The service terminal 105 has two communication facilities, for digitalwireless communication and IR communication. The digital wirelesscommunication is used for accessing to the Internet, while the IRcommunication facility is used for the electronic value transaction withthe mobile user terminal. The computer 900 may incorporate a merchantapplication program, with which the computer 900 controls the wirelessmodem 901 and the IR communication adapter 902 to perform thetransaction, based on this merchant application. In a similar manner,the service server 106 may also incorporate a merchant application, withwhich the service server 106 performs the electronic value transaction,based on this merchant application.

Next, the user terminal 107 will be detailed.

Now referring to FIG. 11, there is shown a schematic block diagram of auser terminal 107. In FIG. 11, the user terminal 107 consists of acomputer 1000, a smart card reader/writer 1001, and a modem 1002. Theuser terminal 107 may incorporate a browser application program and anelectronic wallet application program, and access the Internet via themodem 1002. By inserting a smart card of the mobile user terminal 101into the smart card reader/writer 1001, the user terminal 107 may havethe same functionality as the mobile user terminal 101 except for thetransaction processing to and from a service terminal 105.

Next, the mobile user terminal 101 will be detailed.

Now referring to FIG. 3( a) and FIG. 3( b), there are shown front andrear views of a mobile user terminal 101. In FIG. 3( a), the referencenumeral 211 designates to an IR port (IR module) for IR communicationwith the service terminal 105; the reference numeral 213 to a bluetoothcommunication module for communication with the music player 116 and thenavigation module 117 in bluetooth environment; the reference numeral210 to an antenna for transmitting and receiving RF waves of digitalwireless communication; the reference numeral 209 to areceiver/loudspeaker; the reference numeral 200 to a color liquidcrystal display (LCD) device capable of displaying 120 by 160 pixels;the reference numeral 203 to an off-hook switch; the reference numeral202 to an on-hook & power-on/off switch for both hanging on a call andpowering on/off the device; the reference numeral 204 to a navigationswitch; the reference numerals 205 and 206 to function switches; and thereference numeral 201 to a ten-key pad; the reference numeral 207 to amicrophone. In FIG. 3( b), the reference numeral 212 designates to asmart card slot (smart card reader/writer).

The mobile user terminal 101 has three communication facilities for thedigital wireless communication, for the IR communication, and forbluetooth. The digital wireless facility is used for voice calls andInternet accessing, as well as the transaction processing of electronicvalue with a service server. The IR communication facility is used forthe transaction processing of electronic value with a service terminal.The bluetooth communication facility is used to connect the music player116 and the navigation module 117 to provide the music player facilityand the navigation facility. The mobile user terminal 101 further has abrowser facility and electronic wallet facility. The browser facility isused for browsing the Internet and the locally stored data in the mobileuser terminal, and the electronic wallet facility is used for managingthe electronic value and transaction.

Now referring to FIG. 4, there is shown a schematic block diagram of amobile user terminal 101. In FIG. 4, the mobile user terminal 101comprises a CPU (central processing unit) 300 that operates based on aprogram stored in an FeRAM (Ferroelectric Random Access Memory) 301 toprocess data stored in the FeRAM 301, transmit and receive data, andcontrol other components via a bus 306; an LCD 200; an IR communicationmodule 211; a bluetooth communication module 213; a smart cardreader/writer 212; a ten-key pad 201; hung-on/power-on/off switch 202; acall switch 203; a navigation switch 204; function switches 205 and 206;a key controller 302 for detecting switch operation; voice processor 304for driving a loudspeaker 303 and a receiver 209 and digitallyprocessing analog voice signals input from a microphone 207; RFcommunication unit 305 for controlling wireless data communication viaan antenna 210 and wireless voice calls; and a smart card 307.

The smart card 307 may have therein a CPU and a non-volatile memory,which stores a universal personal telecommunication number (UPT;telephone number) of its user, a user ID in the mobile multimediainformation service, a user private key of the public key cryptographymethod, a user certificate corresponding to the private key, as well asa certificate of the service provider (digital certificate of theservice provider), electronic value that the user has already purchased,and receipts of the purchase of electronic value and for the transactionprocessing thereof.

In the FeRAM 301, in addition to the operating system (OS), a phoneprogram, and a browser, three application programs including anelectronic wallet, a music player object, and a navigator object, anapplication program of a local gateway serving as an interface foraccessing the three applications from the browser, and data processed bythe applications are stored. The electronic wallet object is anapplication running on the mobile user terminal that provides theelectronic wallet facility, in conjunction with the smart card 307; themusic player object is an application running on the mobile userterminal that provides the music player facility, in conjunction withthe music player 116; and the navigator object is an application runningon the mobile user terminal that provides the navigation facility, inconjunction with the navigation module 117.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating the relationship between theapplications executed by the CPU 300 and the browser. The local gateway402 provides facilities corresponding to the wireless communication part305 and the gateway 118 used by the browser to access the Internet, andservers as an application-level interface for accessing the electronicwallet object 400, the music player object 500, and the navigator object600 from the browser. The electronic wallet object 400, the music playerobject 500, and the navigator object 600 respectively provide facilitiescorresponding to servers during access to the Internet, and for accessfrom the browser, return results described in a markup descriptionlanguage to the browser via the local gateway 402.

The local gateway 402 comprises: a local gateway manager 800 thatcontrols the local gateway 402; a service object manager 801 thatmanages the statuses of service objects including the electronic walletobject 400, the music player object 500, and the navigator object 600;and a service object interface 802 serving as a common interface withthe service objects. The service object manager 801 creates a serviceobject table 804 for managing the statuses of the service objects on theFeRAM 301 to manage the statuses of the service objects. An ML creatingpart 803 creates a markup description indicating a list of usableservices from the service object table 804.

The service object table 804, for one service object, contains a servicename, unique name, and serial number, URI of the service object, statusinformation indicating whether it can be used, and handle informationfor actually accessing the service object in the mobile user terminal.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the relationship amongapplications (browser, electronic wallet object, and local gateway)executed by the CPU 300 when the electronic wallet facility is used,other components of the mobile user terminal 101, and other devices. InFIG. 5, the CPU 300 executes three processes, the browser 401, theelectronic wallet object 400, and the local gateway 402.

Electronic value is stored in a nonvolatile memory of the smart card307, and the CPU of the smart card 307 creates a markup descriptionlanguage on the contents of electronic wallet (ML creating part 406),and executes the application program of an electronic wallet server 404that split-downloads the electronic value, and performs examination andsettlement processing.

The browser 401 may accept the user operation information (switchoperation) sent from the key controller 302 to use the RF communicationunit 305 to communicate with the electronic value server 103 via theInternet 100. The browser 401 may also interpret data receive from theelectronic value server 103 to display on the LCD 200. The data receivedfrom the electronic value server 103 in this situation is written in aspecific markup language, and the browser 401 interprets the markuplanguage to restore image data to display on the LCD 200. In a similarmanner, the browser 401 interprets data received from the local gateway402 and data received from the electronic wallet object 400 via thelocal gateway 402 to display on the LCD 200. Here the data received fromthe local gateway 402 and data received from the electronic wallet 400are written in a specific markup language.

As an example, referring to FIG. 8( a), there is shown a “My Menu”display screen, which is presented on the LCD 200 at the power-on. Whenpowering on by means of the hung-on/power-on/off switch 202, the browser401 asks the local gateway 402 for a list of usable services anddisplays a screen shown in FIG. 8( a). The local gateway manager 800asks for a list of usable services the service object manager 801, whichcreates a list of usable services written in markup languages from theservice object table 804 by use of the ML creating part 803, and thecreated list of usable services is returned to the browser 401 via thelocal gateway manager 800. The “My Menu” file is an operation menu ofthe mobile user terminal 101, written in a specific markup language.

Now assuming that the user selects from the menu item “1:Internet”, towhich an absolute URI (Universal Resource Identifier) of“http://www.mmiserv.com/mu ierm/menu” is linked, the browser 401 willaccess the Internet using the character string “http” as key and displayan Internet Menu screen linked to the menu item “1:Internet”, as shownin FIG. 8( b). Then the user may access to an Internet site, for examplethe information server 102, from this menu. FIG. 8( c) depicts anexemplary display screen when access to an information server 102 toplace an order of electronic value.

Assuming that the user selects “2:E-Wallet” from the “My Menu”, thebrowser 401 may access to the electronic wallet object 400 via the localgateway 402, and display another screen for requesting a password input,based on the data received from the electronic wallet 400, as shown inFIG. 8( d). When the user inputs his/her password in this screen, thebrowser 410 in turn will send the password input to the electronicwallet 400 via the local gateway 402. If the password is correct, theelectronic wallet 400 will send data including a list of electronicvalue stored in and managed by the electronic wallet 400 to the browser401 via the local gateway 402. Then the browser 401 will display thescreen as shown in FIG. 8( e). If the password is not correct, then anerror will be displayed. Assuming that the user selects “7:Soccer 200XJapa” menu item, data indicating the contents of electronic valueselected will be sent from the electronic wallet to the browser 401 viathe local gateway 402, and the browser 401 will display a screen asshown in FIG. 8( f).

In the above situation, the data sent from the electronic wallet 400 tothe browser 401 is created by the electronic wallet server 404 on thesmart card 307 and is written in a specific markup language. Forexample, “2 E-Wallet” shown in FIG. 8( a) is linked to “lgw://wallet”,which is a relative URI to the local gateway 402, and the browser 401interprets the user's selection operation as a resource being using acharacter string of “lgw” as key via the local gateway 402, and in thenext step, using the character string of “wallet”, accesses a serviceobject having the service name of “wallet”, that is, the electronicwallet object 400 via the local gateway 402. In response to thisselection operation, to authenticate the user, data written in aspecific markup description language as shown in FIG. 15 is sent to thebrowser 401 from the electronic wallet object 400 to display a screenfor prompting the user to enter a password.

“ok” operation on the screen shown in FIG. 8 is linked to the processingthat an entered password is sent to “lgw://wallet/”, which is a relativeURI to the local gateway 402. When the user enters a password, thebrowser 401 will send the entered password to the electronic walletobject 400 via the local gateway 402. In response to this operation, ifthe password is correct, a list of electronic values written in aspecific markup description language will be sent to the browser 401 viathe local gateway 402 to display the screen shown in FIG. 8( e). If thepassword is incorrect, data indicating an error, written in a specificmarkup language, is sent to the browser 401 from the electronic walletobject 400 via the local gateway 402 to display an error screen.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing the relationship amongapplications (browser, music player object, and local gateway) executedby the CPU 300 when the music player facility is used, other componentsof the mobile user terminal 101, and other devices. In FIG. 6, the CPU300 executes three processes, the browser 401, the music player object500, and the local gateway 402.

A music file 505 is stored in a nonvolatile memory module mounted in themusic player 116, and the CPU of the music player 116 creates a markupdescription language (ML creating part 506) on the contents of the musicplayer, and executes the application program of a music server 504 thatsplit-downloads and reproduces the music file 505.

For example, assuming that the user selects “4 Music Player”, thebrowser 401 will access the music player object 500 via the localgateway 402, data indicating a list of music files managed in the musicplayer object 500 will be sent to the browser 401 from the music playerobject 500 via the local gateway 402, and the browser 401 will displaythe screen shown in FIG. 8( g). Further, if the user selects “−1 songfor you” for play, the selected music title will be played. In the abovesituation, data sent from the music player object 500 to the browser 401is created by the music server 504 on the music player 116 and iswritten in a specific markup description language. For example, “4 MusicPlayer” shown in FIG. 8( a) is linked to “lgw://music_player/”, which isa relative URI to the local gateway 402, and the browser 401 interpretsthe user's selection operation as a resource being accessed using thecharacter string of “lgw” as key via the local gateway 402, and in thenext step, using the character string of “music_player”, accesses aservice object having the service name of “music_player”, that is, themusic player object 500 via the local gateway 402. In response to thisselection operation, a list of music files written in a specific markupdescription language are sent to the browser 401 from the music playerobject to display the screen shown in FIG. 8( g). Further, “−1 song foryou” shown in FIG. 8( g) is linked to “lgw://music_player/play?track=1”,which is a relative URI to the local gateway 402, and the browser 401interprets the user's selection operation as a resource being accessedusing the character string of “lgw” as key via the local gateway 402,and in the next step, using the character string of “music_player”,accesses a service object having the service name of “music_player”,that is, the music player object 500 via the local gateway 402 torequest playing a music title.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing the relationship amongapplications (browser, navigator object, and local gateway) executed bythe CPU 300 when the navigator facility is used, other components of themobile user terminal 101, and other devices. In FIG. 7, the CPU 300executes three processes, the browser 401, the navigator object 600, andthe local gateway 402.

A geographic data file 605 is stored in a nonvolatile memory modulemounted in the navigation module 117, and the CPU of the navigationmodule 117 creates a markup description language (ML creating part 606)on the contents of the navigation module, and executes the applicationprogram of a navigation server 604 that split-downloads and reproducesthe geographic data file 605.

For example, assuming that the user selects “5 Navigator”, the browser401 will access the navigator object 600 via the local gateway 402, dataindicating a current position and a peripheral map will be sent to thebrowser 401 from the navigator object 600 via the local gateway 402, andthe browser 401 will display the screen shown in FIG. 8( h).

In the above situation, data sent from the navigator object 600 to thebrowser 401 is created by the navigation server 604 on the navigationmodule 117 and is written in a specific markup description language. Forexample, “5 Navigator” shown in FIG. 8( a) is linked to“lgw://navigator”, which is a relative URI to the local gateway 402, andthe browser 401 interprets the user's selection operation as a resourcebeing accessed using the character string of “lgw” as key via the localgateway 402, and in the next step, using the character string of“navigator”, accesses a service object having the service name of“navigator”, that is, the navigator object 600 via the local gateway402.

Next, a description will be made of the split-download facility of theservice objects including the electronic wallet server 404, the musicserver 504, and the navigation server 604. The split-download facility,when the size of data transferable at a time is small, splitslarge-capacity electronic value containing image data, andlarge-capacity music file and geographic data into a small unit of databefore downloading them. As a specific example of this facility, adescription will be made of a case where the electronic value is halvedand downloaded to the electronic wallet from the electronic valueserver.

FIG. 12 shows messages exchanged among the electronic value server 103,the browser 401, and the electronic wallet object 400 in the case wherethe electronic value is halved and downloaded.

From the electronic value server 103 to the browser 401, a messageServer_instruction_1 1100 is sent to request the downloading of thefirst of two split data items of the electronic value. The contents ofServer_instruction_1, as shown in FIG. 13( a), contain an instruction tothe electronic wallet object 400 as the attributes of an Go element.According to FIG. 13( a), the instruction specifies downloading(fragmentDL) data “1234567890 . . . abcdefghij” (DLdata) in thecondition that session ID (session_id) is 1234, a split count (num_frag)is 2, the first (frag_num) of two split data items is sent, and URI(DLserver) of the electronic value server 103 is“http://www.evissuer.com”. At this time, the data (DLdata) to bedownloaded is encrypted and encoded for error detection, and furtherencoded to ASCII data.

The browser 401 sends the attribute portion 1101 of the Go element ofServer_instruction_1 to a service object having the service name of“wallet”, that is, the electronic wallet object via the local gateway402.

The electronic wallet object 400 interprets the instruction contained inthe attribute portion 1101 of the received Go element, checks thedownloaded data (DLdata) for errors, decrypts the data, and if no erroris found, sends a message S0_instruction_1 1102 to request the sendingof a second data item to the browser 401. The contents ofServer_instruction_1 1102, as shown in FIG. 13( b), contain aninstruction to the electronic value server 103 as the attributes of anGo element. According to FIG. 13( b), the instruction requests thesending (send_frag) of the second item (frag_num) of the split data witha session ID (session_id) of 1234. If an error is detected in thedownloaded data, the number of the split data item in which the error isdetected is specified as frag_num.

The browser 401 sends the attribute portion 1103 of the Go element ofS0_instruction_1 1102 to “http://www.evissuer.com”, that is, theelectronic value server 103.

The electronic value server 103 interprets an instruction contained inthe attribute portion of the received Go element, and sends a messageServer_instruction_2 1104 to request the downloading of the second ofthe two split data items of the electronic value to the browser 401.

The contents of Server_instruction_2, as shown in FIG. 14( a), containan instruction to the electronic wallet object 400 as the attributes ofan Go element. According to FIG. 14( a), the instruction specifiesdownloading (fragmentDL) data “1234567890 . . . abcdefghij” (DLdata) inthe condition that session ID (session_id) is 1234, a split count(num_frag) is 2, the second (frag_num) of two split data items is sent,and URI (DLserver) of the electronic value server 103 is“http://www.evissuer.com”. At this time, the data (DLdata) to bedownloaded is encrypted and encoded for error detection, and furtherencoded to ASCII data.

The browser 401 sends the attribute portion 1105 of the Go element ofServer_instruction_2 1104 to a service object having the service name of“wallet”, that is, the electronic wallet object via the local gateway402.

The electronic wallet object 400 interprets the instruction contained inthe attribute portion 1105 of the received Go element, checks thedownloaded data (DLdata) for errors, decrypts the data, and if no erroris found, creates one electronic value from the two split data andstores it in a smart card, and sends a message S0_instruction_2 1106indicating the completion of the downloading to the browser 401.

The contents of S0_instruction_2 1106, as shown in FIG. 14( b), containan instruction to the electronic value server 103 as the attributes ofan Go element. According to FIG. 14( b), the contents of the instructionindicate that data of the session ID (session_id) of 1234 has beendownloaded (DLcomplete).

The browser 401 sends the attribute portion 1107 of the Go element ofS0_instruction_2 1106 to “http://www.evissuer.com”, that is, theelectronic value server 103.

The electronic value server 103 interprets an instruction contained inthe attribute portion 1107 of the received Go element, and completes theelectronic value issuance processing.

As has been described above, by providing a local gateway forapplications, and server facilities for the applications (serviceobjects), a mobile terminal having a small display screen permits thescreen to be shared among plural applications so that no display memoryneeds to be provided for each of the applications, and can offermulti-application services, regardless of the small memory.

Further, by adding the data split-download facility to the serverfacilities of the applications (service objects), even if the size ofdata that can be transferred at a time is small, large-capacity data canbe downloaded without making changes to the RF communication unit 305.

Although, in the above described configuration, the electronic walletserver 404 is used as an application of the smart card 307, it may beone module of the electronic wallet server 404, as shown in FIG. 16. Inthis case, the electronic wallet server 1604 accesses the smart card 307via the smart card reader/writer 212 to perform the creation of a markupdescription language on the contents of electronic wallet (ML creatingpart 406), electronic value split-download, and examination andsettlement processing, in conjunction with the smart card 307. Adecreased amount of processing in the smart card 307 contributes toreduction in a memory size thereof, providing the advantage of the smartcard being inexpensively produced.

Although, in the above described configuration, the music server 504 isused as an application of the music player 116, it may be one module ofthe music player object 500, as shown in FIG. 17. In this case, themusic server 1704 accesses the music player 116 via the Bluetoothcommunication module 213 to perform the creation of a markup descriptionlanguage on the contents of music player (ML creating part 506), and thesplit-download and reproduction of the music file 505, in conjunctionwith the music player 116. A decreased amount of processing in the musicplayer 116 contributes to reduction in a memory size thereof, providingthe advantage of the smart card being inexpensively produced.

Although, in the above described configuration, the navigation server604 is used as an application of the navigation module 117, it may beone module of the navigator object 600, as shown in FIG. 18. In thiscase, the navigation server 1804 accesses the navigation module 117 viathe Bluetooth communication module 212 to perform the creation of amarkup description language on the contents of the navigation module (MLcreating part 606), and the split-download and reproduction of thegeographic data file 605, in conjunction with the navigation module 117.A decreased amount of processing in the navigation module 117contributes to reduction in a memory size thereof, providing theadvantage of the smart card being inexpensively produced.

Although, in the above described configuration, an ML creating part forcreating a markup description language is provided separately for eachservice object and the service object manager 801, it may be configuredas one module shared by applications on the mobile terminal 101. In thiscase, a decreased amount of the application programs on the mobile userterminal 101 contributes to reduction in a memory size thereof,providing the advantage of the mobile user terminal being inexpensivelyproduced.

Although, in the above described configuration, the IR communication isused for communication between the mobile user terminal 101 and theservice terminal 105, another wireless communication system may be used.In this case, the mobile user terminal 101 is provided with a wirelesscommunication means of the wireless communication system instead of theIR communication module 111, and the service terminal 105 is providedwith a wireless communication means of the wireless communication systeminstead of the IR communication adapter 602.

Although, in the above description, the mobile user terminal 101constituting the mobile multimedia information delivery system has anoptimum hardware configuration for achieving the facilities in themobile multimedia information service, the mobile user terminal 101 mayalso be constituted by a computer having facilities including thedigital wireless communication facility, the infrared communicationfacility, and the bluetooth communication facility, a smart cardreader/writer, a display, a keyboard (or pen input device), amicrophone, and a loudspeaker. In this case, a program stored in theFeRAM 301 is converted to a software program operating on the OS(Operating System) of the personal computer, and the software program isstored in a place (e.g., hard disk) where it can be executed in thecomputer.

1. An information processing method comprising: using a browser tointerpret a URI (Uniform Resource Identifier) which identifies aninformation processing of a service object from said plurality ofservice objects, and request, via a local gateway, the informationprocessing of the service object identified by the URI; providing therequested information processing of the service object identified by theURI; using the local gateway, in response to the request from thebrowser, to return information written in a mark-up description languageto the browser as a result of the information processing of the serviceobject identified by the URI; and using the browser to interpret anddisplay the information written in the mark-up description languagereturned from the local gateway.
 2. An information processing methodaccording to claim 1, further comprising: using the local gateway tocollect information about the service objects currently available toprovide information processing; and using the local gateway to return,to the browser, a list of the service objects which are currentlyavailable to provide information processing.
 3. A computer executableprogram embodied on a computer readable medium, said computer executableprogram causing data to be displayed on a display device, said computerexecutable program comprising: computer executable program code operableto cause a browser to interpret a URI (Uniform Resource Identifier)which identifies an information processing of a service object from aplurality of service objects, and request, via a local gateway, theinformation processing of the service object identified by the URI;computer executable program code operable cause the requestedinformation processing of the service object identified by the URI;computer executable program code operable to cause the local gateway, inresponse to the request from the browser, to return information writtenin a mark-up description language to the browser as a result of theinformation processing of the service object identified by the URI; andcomputer executable program code operable to cause the browser tointerpret and display, on the display device, the information written inthe mark-up description language returned from the local gateway.
 4. Acomputer executable program embodied on a computer readable mediumaccording to claim 3, further comprising: computer executable programcode operable to cause the local gateway to collect information aboutthe service objects which are currently available to provide informationprocessing; and computer executable program code operable to cause thelocal gateway to return, to the browser, a list of the service objectswhich are currently available to provide information processing.
 5. Aninformation processing method according to claim 1, further comprising:using an ML creating part, included in each of the plurality of serviceobjects, to create information written in the mark-up descriptionlanguage.
 6. A computer executable program embodied on a computerreadable medium according to claim 3, further comprising: computerexecutable program code operable to cause an ML creating part, includedin each of the plurality of service objects, to create informationwritten in the mark-up description language.
 7. An informationprocessing method according to claim 2, further comprising: using an MLcreating part, included in the local gateway, to create a mark-updescription of the list of available service objects, and using thebrowser to receive and display the mark-up description of the list ofavailable service objects.
 8. A computer executable program embodied ona computer readable medium according to claim 4, further comprising:computer executable program code operable to cause an ML creating part,included in the local gateway, to create a mark-up description of thelist of available service objects; and computer executable program codeoperable to cause the browser to receive and display the mark-updescription of the list of available service objects.
 9. An informationprocessing method using an information processing terminal, theinformation processing terminal comprising: a memory unit for storingapplication programs; a Central Processing Unit operable to execute theapplication programs stored in said memory unit, and a communicationunit operable to enable said information processing terminal to connectto an internet for accessing an external server; the applicationprograms including: a plurality of service objects, each service objectincluding an internal server having a facility for providing informationprocessing; a local gateway operable to communicate with the serviceobjects; and a browser operable to request retrieval of data from theexternal server via said communication unit and operable to request theinformation processing of the internet server, via said local gateway,from a service object selected from said plurality of service objects;wherein said browser is operable to interpret a URI (Uniform ResourceIdentifier) identifying an information processing of a service objectfrom said plurality of service objects, and request, via said localgateway, the information processing of the service object identified bythe URI and interpret and display information written in a mark-updescription language returned as a response to the request; and saidlocal gateway is operable to serve as an interface between said browserand each of said plurality of service objects, route the browser'srequest for the information processing to the service object to providethe information processing identified by the URI, and in response to therequest from the browser, return information written in a mark-updescription language to the browser as a result of the informationprocessing of the service object identified by the URI; said localgateway comprising: a service object manager operable to holdinformation regarding a status of an availability of said plurality ofservice objects; wherein said internal server corresponding to theselected service object is operable to execute the informationprocessing specified by the request from the browser and the selectedservice object is operable to return local data to the browser, as aresult of the information processing; and said browser is operable toreceive data retrieved from the external server for display on saidinformation processing terminal and is operable to receive the localdata retrieved from the selected service object for display on saidinformation processing terminal, the method comprising: using a browserto interpret a URI (Uniform Resource Identifier) which identifies aninformation processing of a service object from said plurality ofservice objects, and request, via a local gateway, the informationprocessing of the service object identified by the URI; providing therequested information processing of the service object identified by theURI; using the local gateway, in response to the request from thebrowser, to return information written in a mark-up description languageto the browser as a result of the information processing of the serviceobject identified by the URI; and using the browser to interpret anddisplay the information written in the mark-up description languagereturned from the local gateway.
 10. An information processing methodaccording to claim 9, further comprising: using the local gateway tocollect information about the service objects currently available toprovide information processing; and using the local gateway to return,to the browser, a list of the service objects which are currentlyavailable to provide information processing.
 11. A computer executableprogram embodied on a computer readable medium, said computer executableprogram causing the information processing terminal according to claim 9to operate and data to be displayed on a display device, said computerexecutable program comprising: computer executable program code operableto cause the browser to interpret a URI (Uniform Resource Identifier)which identifies an information processing of a service object from aplurality of service objects, and request, via a local gateway, theinformation processing of the service object identified by the URI;computer executable program code operable cause the requestedinformation processing of the service object identified by the URI;computer executable program code operable to cause the local gateway, inresponse to the request from the browser, to return information writtenin a mark-up description language to the browser as a result of theinformation processing of the service object identified by the URI; andcomputer executable program code operable to cause the browser tointerpret and display, on the display device, the information written inthe mark-up description language returned from the local gateway.
 12. Acomputer executable program embodied on a computer readable mediumaccording to claim 11, further comprising: computer executable programcode operable to cause the local gateway to collect information aboutthe service objects which are currently available to provide informationprocessing; and computer executable program code operable to cause thelocal gateway to return, to the browser, a list of the service objectswhich are currently available to provide information processing.
 13. Aninformation processing method according to claim 9, further comprising:using an ML creating part, included in each of the plurality of serviceobjects, to create information written in the mark-up descriptionlanguage.
 14. A computer executable program embodied on a computerreadable medium according to claim 11, further comprising: computerexecutable program code operable to cause an ML creating part, includedin each of the plurality of service objects, to create informationwritten in the mark-up description language.
 15. An informationprocessing method according to claim 9, further comprising: using an MLcreating part, included in the local gateway, to create a mark-updescription of the list of available service objects, and using thebrowser to receive and display the mark-up description of the list ofavailable service objects.
 16. A computer executable program embodied ona computer readable medium according to claim 12, further comprising:computer executable program code operable to cause an ML creating part,included in the local gateway, to create a mark-up description of thelist of available service objects; and computer executable program codeoperable to cause the browser to receive and display the mark-updescription of the list of available service objects.